Black Out
by English Gable
Summary: "In the end, he always knew these black outs would get him in a bad situation eventually. But never did he think it would result in him laying in bed with a co-worker-the next morning."-AU; GERITA
1. Prologue

It was simple

He blacked out.

It wasn't something Ludwig prided himself on; blacking out occasionally and waking up in another place. Sometimes he would wake up in his apartment, his car, and even a foreign bedroom. Each time it happened however, he simply shook his head, rubbed his eyes and went on with life, or snuck out of someone's house if the situation required.

Yes, Ludwig had learned how to deal with these "accidents" very easily. And thankfully nothing horrible happened most of the time. He had never been arrested or beaten up. He didn't _think_ he had ever killed someone.

But this particular incident worried him. Oh, how it worried him.

Ludwig-though he would never admit it- _loved_ women. He loved their smell and their bodies. He loved how breasts felt in his hands, the softness that enveloped him at the most _intimate_ times. Yes-beautiful women-_blond_, beautiful women. He loved blondes.

So why… Why was there a brunette next to him? Ludwig-lucid or not, never dated or slept with brunettes, let alone short haired girls. Women masculated themselves when they wore their hair short in his opinion. What had changed last night?

Work had been horrible, a man in their office had been caught sleeping with the boss' wife and had been fired. What made matters worse was that, the man she had been caught with was in fact Ludwig's brother. His older brother Gilbert.

Mother and Grandfather had always said "Ludwig, you must watch your brother. He is not smart like you. He does not learn like you. Make sure he eats and drinks water with his beer."

Ludwig essentially had been left with the task of taking care of Gilbert after Mother and Grandfather passed away. And Gilbert-true to their words- _never_ learned, and was not smart. But Ludwig tried… He secured Gilbert a job in the mail room at his work, he paid for Gilbert's groceries and water bill, he even scheduled Gilbert's doctors' appointments.

But now... Now Gilbert was completely dependent on Ludwig; he had no job, and no sense in taking care of himself. After Gilbert's dramatic exit of Hetalia Corporation, Ludwig had been accosted by many a staff members asking what happened and why Gilbert was fired. Too nice to not answer the questions, but too embarrassed to answer truthfully, Ludwig explained that Gilbert had simply angered the boss one too many times.

"Such a shame. " Antonio from communications said.

"Lets protest for his job back!" exclaimed Arthur from contracts.

"Can we get ziti for lunch?" asked Feliciano from the mail room.

After a miserable and embarrassing day, Ludwig dragged himself home-only to find Gilbert on the couch, fingers orange with cheetos dust and using the pay-per-view to watch porn.

"I was evicted." He said simply, continuing to watch the TV with interest.

"What? How? Your last paycheck should have covered up to two months!"

"Oh that? I used that to buy some new awesome games. Can I borrow some money so I can buy you a power strip? There totally isn't enough outlets in here for the both of us. "

Ludwig left the house in a rage. If he stayed home he knew either Gilbert would be dead by the end of the night, or dying with Ludwig calling the ambulance and awaiting arrest. He needed out of there. Away from his idiotic brother, his job, his responsibilities… He was so _tired_.

Without realizing it, he had driven to a bar. A fairly new place, the neon lights outside shined with big blue letters "_Vinci_". Women and men dotted the parking lot, taking pictures, laughing, leaving. Insecurity crept up inside Ludwig. This looked like a happening place, not somewhere for a sad man to nurse himself on alcohol. But his fuming anger made him overlook any inhibitions. He wanted a damn drink.

Inside it was muted colors, a light shone over the bar to the left while a scarcely filled dance floor moved in the dark to some new dance song. Two or three people sat at the bar. Ludwig sat himself down at the end and ordered a beer. After a couple of sips he sighed. The strong smell of alcohol soothed his anger and he visibly relaxed. Carefully he created a list in his head, aptly named "How _not_ to kill Gilbert". It was a fairly impressive list of ways not to kill his brother, but did little the solve the issue of a now jobless and utterly hopeless 28 year old Gilbert.

"Ve! Its Ludwig from work! Hi Ludwig from work!" a bouncing figure appeared next to him, inviting themselves to his right, and asking the bartender for some fanciful and womanly cocktail. Feliciano was peculiar, he worked side by side with Gilbert, usually being the one who delivered the mail on the cart. He was an immigrant, just like Ludwig and Gilbert, but his accent was much stronger. Often times his babbling did little to convey what he was actually trying to communicate, and he would simply carry on as if one had any idea what he was talking about.

"H-hello Feliciano." He did a small wave and took another sip of his beer, regarding Feliciano carefully. The Italian smiled warmly at him and swirled his own blue beverage.

"Ve! I didn't know you came to _Vinci_! When I first saw the name I thought it was an _Italian_ place! But it is not! It's a bar! How strange!" Feliciano continued on like this for several more minutes, Ludwig nodding when needed. Feliciano continued happily, starting a new topic tangent after tangent.

"-Lovino said it wouldn't just fall off! I had to go to a doctor who was Indian! It was so interesting! He used this laser-Ludwig." Suddenly the italian's expression deepened. His brown eyes glistened before blinking. "Ludwig. What is making you sad?"

Ludwig jumped slightly at the question, then composed himself. "What? There is nothing wrong. "

The mysterious blue drink was set down, and his hands were being taken into significantly smaller ones. Feliciano was a petite man. He held them against his chest. "My grandfather always said never to hide your emotions! Crying is so much easier than hiding it! Cry to me Ludwig!"

The passion in Feliciano's eyes was almost laughable, and Ludwig carefully drew his hands away before politely declining the offer.

"After all," Ludwig continued, "We only know each other from work." With that, all the light left Feliciano's eyes. "I see." He said slowly, pushing the drink up to be taken away. "I see Ludwig".

With tears building and nose sniffling, the brunette tore away to the bathroom with one last "I won't forgive you!" before disappearing from sight. Ludwig could only watch mesmerized, _What a child_, he thought taking another sip."

His memory ended there.

So nothing had changed. Ludwig had gone to bars before, usually someone caught his eye and he waited until they noticed him. After that, it was only a game to see if she would be brazen enough to come over to him. They exchanged some information, either went to their place or a hotel, went with their _business_, and the other was gone the next morning.

Wherever he was… This was definitely not a hotel, or his apartment. The walls were painted a deep tan, ancient pictures of vineyards and landscapes dotted the walls. By the window on the left, there was a lightly varnished desk equipped with a computer and a portrait. Ludwig squinted at this, trying to make out the figures in the picture.

A woman with rolling curls and deep chocolate eyes, in her arms were too young boys-twins. One scowling, arms crossed, and the other laughing and looking astoundingly like-

Like.

What the _hell _had he done?

Practically rolling out of bed, he scouted the still slightly dark room for his clothes. Easily he found his underwear and pants, near the cracked door was his shirt, the only thing left was-

Where were his shoes?

The figure in the bed murmured and rolled over, causing him further distress as he raced out of the room and down a foreign hallway and into a grand kitchen. The house was eerily quiet, and Ludwig searched with his eyes for the pair of loafers he had tugged on while hastily escaping his own house. Nothing.

If only he could remember what had happened!

"Shoes, shoes." Was the mantra he chanted as he continued to scout for shoes. Finally lady luck was on his side, and perched near a stained glass doorway were his brown loafers. After putting them on, Ludwig padded his pocket and was relieved to hear the familiar jingle of keys. He was home free. Now just to get to his car-

Oh.

With much dismay, Ludwig pulled back the luxurious curtain from the front window, only to see a lilac Lamborghini sitting daintily in the long bricked driveway. After taking several minutes getting over the fact that there was a $100,000 Lamborghini in the damn driveway, he noticed that _nowhere_ to be seen was his old as dirt blue Chevy Chevet.

"Ve… Ludwig…"

He was going to kill himself.

* * *

A/N: Fwah! There you have it! If you would like to see a continuation of this, let me know! If you have any questions about anything or comments you desperately want answered go to theenglishgable. tumblr. com, with no spaces! There you can ask me anything you'd like! :)

Hope to see you soon!


	2. Chapter 1

Feliciano had decided the moment he woke up that he was going to have a _wonderful_ morning.

The morning sun had baked his bedroom with the _delicious_ smell of afterglow, and the soreness in his limbs made him beam to himself. Curling deeper into the covers, he turned to the left to move closer to his newly established boyfrie-

Wait.

Blinking blearily, he focused on the lack of sexy German immigrant that should be lying next to him. Yawning, Feliciano concluded that Ludwig must be in the bathroom cleaning himself off since he fell asleep almost immediately after…well you know!

Stretching and groaning slightly, he moved lazily towards the bathroom in his room. Flicking on the lights, he finally realized that here, too, there was no Ludwig. Hm, he must've used a bathroom in the hallway.

After morning stretches, and crying alittle from the pain in his back, he quickly brushed his teeth and pulled on his robe. He would make a lovely breakfast for his Ludwig, though he wasn't exactly sure what Germans ate in the morning…

"Ve… Ludwig?" He traveled down the hall, past pictures of his Grandfather and Grandmother towards the kitchen. "Ludwig?"

Ludwig was standing in the foyer peering out of the window, his mouth slightly agape. Something interesting outside must be happening! Taking this opportunity, Feliciano draped himself over the blonde. "What is it?" he murmured warmly. The blonde stiffened, and turned slowly towards Feliciano.

Oh, those eyes were so _blue_! Like crystal; Feliciano could stare at them forever. They were the kind of eyes that pierced you-oh! So much like cupid's arrow! Feliciano swooned a bit before smiling warmly and meeting those eyes. "Did you find something interesting outside?"

"Um… whose Lamborghini is that?"

"Oh! Mine! It was a gift from Lovino." Feliciano smiled wider. "It was originally going to be a Jaguar XF, but Lovino said he saw the Aventador and thought of me! Plus Grandfather only approve of Italian made cars! I didn't know you liked cars! I love cars! We should go to some car shows and get icecream and meet Lovino and Antonio there and-"

"_Feliciano_."

"Hmm?" Oh, Ludwig was so _nice_ to look at, his hair was mussed and it looked so much better than when he slicked it back like he normally did at work. Feliciano could just reach up and touch it! He reached up and ran his hands through it the mess, tugging gently on the strands still bonded by cheap hair gel. Ludwig stiffened alittle again, maybe he wasn't used to this kind of touch. Feliciano wanted so much to be a good boyfriend. "Ve, Ludwig what would you like for breakfast? Do you know what time it is?"

"Um… I don't know where my phone is."

"Oh! Don't worry! We have Grandfather's clock!" joyfully Feliciano turned to towards an old cuckoo clock that Grandfather had said he had received from a friend from Germany. It was almost eleven. Hm… Oh well, he had slept in later before.

"It's almost eleven? I have to get home. Do you know where my car is?" Ludwig asked in a worried tone, still looking over his shoulder towards the front door. Feliciano yawned and headed towards the refrigerator to pull out ingredients. "Your car is still at _Vinci's_. We will get it after breakfast. Or brunch I guess! Is that what Americans call it?" Feliciano shrugged and continued making quiche. Ludwig was acting strangely as opposed to last night.

Last night after Ludwig had upset Feliciano, the blonde came looking for him, and during his apology Feliciano quickly confessed how he had always felt about Ludwig. How he admired him, how he loved him, and wanted him to love him back. The kiss Ludwig had given him was enough to explain to Feliciano that Ludwig was _indeed_ his boyfriend now. And it was confirmed when he asked if Ludwig wanted to come back home with him and the blonde agreed. From the moment they unlocked the door, they made love. Feliciano forgot the number of places Ludwig had held him, whether in Ludwig's lap on the leather sofa, or against the granite countertops of the kitchen, or for one last time on Feliciano's bed before passing out.

It had been _wonderful_.

Last night Ludwig exposed a different side of himself. He was still quiet, but less reserved. His shyness to touch was replaced with tenacity. His eyes smoldered sapphire as opposed to being cold ice. Feliciano wanted to talk endlessly with Ludwig, learn everything about his boyfriend. He wanted to make him lunch and clean his house and have wonderful sex.

But this morning was different. Stiffly, Ludwig sat himself on the bar, wincing alittle at the cold granite. Feliciano beamed and proudly went on cooking.

"My Grandfather made my Grandmother this quiche _every_ Sunday morning before they went to church. And every Sunday morning Grandmother would throw the quiche at him and yell that she hated it. Grandmother was such a feisty woman." He laughed. "What about your family?"

"My Grandfather raised my brother and I."

Feliciano's eyes widened. "Ve! You are an orphan? So am I!" Feliciano set down the pan to let the quiche begin to cook and sauntered over to leaned over the bar and look at Ludwig-who quickly averted his eyes. "You can look me in the eye. I don't mind." Those eyes looked at him quickly before turning down again. Sighing dramatically, Feliciano went and checked on the quiche. "Last night was wonderful."

"O-oh. Yeah? I'm glad."

Feliciano beamed, poking the quiche alittle before jiggling the pan to loosen the pie and sliding it onto a plate. "Yes, all of it was wonderful. We should go out again soon! Lets have dinner after work on Monday!"

"Oh? S-sure."

Feliciano smiled. "Mhmm. "

With practiced ease Feliciano returned to _Vinci_ and delivered Ludwig to his car. Ludwig seemed _alittle_ uncomfortable with the doors that flipped upwards when he stumbled out. The blonde stuck his hands loosely in his pockets and nodded coolly.

"Th-Thank you for breakfast."

Feliciano reached into the back of the car and pulled out Ludwig's leather jacket; there he would find his phone and keys. "No problem. I'll call you soon. Be sure to check your phone!" Feliciano smiled warmly as Ludwig took the jacket sleeve, in which he quickly yanked it forward to send the blonde tumbling and into the brunette's lips. After a quick and satisfying kiss, Ludwig stumbled away and quickly dug into his pockets for his keys. With that Feliciano drove away, watching his boyfriend in the corner of his rear-view mirror.

* * *

The Monday after was normal for Ludwig, he left Gilbert there passed out on the couch and went out into the cold spring morning. The cold stung his nose alittle, but it was nothing like the spring mornings in Germany. The biting chill of his homeland was definitely something he did not miss.

After a relatively peaceful drive home Ludwig parked in his typical parking space and went towards the elevators to take him to the main building from the parking garage.

"Ah! Ludwig!"

Grimacing, Ludwig stopped and waited for Antonio who also worked in his sector. "Good morning, my friend." Antonio said through his scarf that snuggly went up to his nose.

"Good morning." Ludwig said courteously. Antonio said something indecipherable before rolling his eyes and pulling down his scarf. Antonio smiled at him a little, but it was off. Something was definitely off about that smile-no, _smirk_.

"So… I heard you had a good weekend no? You made _someone_ very happy."

Ludwig froze at that, his eyes narrowed and he walked a little slower, smiling nervously. "What? What did you hear? What, did Gilbert drunk dial you?"

"No, he hasn't done that for a couple months. Someone else. The brother of a very, _very_, dear friend of mine. "

"O-oh." Ludwig pressed hurriedly on the down button, wanting the elevator to come quickly. "Mhm." Antonio winked at him. "Take care, you know?"

Take care?

What the hell did that mean?

Ludwig ran a hand over his face as soon as Antonio was in his respective cubicle. Someone knew, someone had found out about his… Possible… You know.

_Take care_.

The day went on with an aura of suspicion, Ludwig constantly felt like people were watching him, but when he turned his head-everyone seemed normal. Ivan had broken the printer again and was passively arguing with Alfred about it, normal behavior for those two. Roderich, Ludwig's supervisor continually harassed his secretary about changing the music playing from the radio that went throughout the entire office-also normal behavior. It was a typical Monday at Hetalia Corp; everyone was tired from their weekend and working at 50% as opposed to the normal 75% and possible 80%. It was _too_ normal. _Way_ too normal.

The day continued like that until mail delivery came. Even that was normal. Mail delivery was extremely important to Feliciano, who came down the floor with his cart shouting names and flinging documents out to be caught ideally in midair. The throws were weak usually and ended up with documents on the floor, and a considerate employee setting it on the desk of the respective owner. Feliciano was normal(for Feliciano at least), yelling names and throwing mail, with Roderich shouting at him to be careful with the copies of some bills he needed to look over.

That was until the brunette reached Ludwig's desk. Carefully, the proposals that Ludwig needed to look over were gathered out of their holder and set gently in the "Incoming" basket Ludwig had nailed to the outside of his cubicle. It was such a tender and quiet action; which caused everyone to stop and look. Afterwards Feliciano knocked tenderly on the slide of the cubicle, causing the blond to peek over it at him. "Yes?" he asked carefully. Feliciano's face brightened red as he reached under the cart and pulled out a tumbler of coffee. He reached over and quickly handed it to Ludwig, blowing a kiss gently towards him and zooming down the rest of the floor shouting names and throwing mail.

Almost instantaneously, Alfred involved himself. "Well, well Kraut. I never thought you were an _ass_ man." The insinuation was gross and many of the only employees scoffed while returning to work. Ludwig coughed alittle, "Th-this isn't exactly an environment suitable for _that_ kind of talk."

"Right, right. Just…Damn. I never thought the rumors were true. Take care man."

_Take care_?

What the _fuck_ did that mean?

Suddenly Ludwig's day began to get a whole lot crappier.

Employees openly talked about him-shushing only when he walked directly by, and every time someone came to discuss a proposal with him and how to edit it, they couldn't stop staring at him for seemingly no reason.

Patience was running thin. And no one liked Ludwig when he had no patience.

Generally , the man was seemingly a large quiet and shy teddy bear. _Rarely_ did he get upset, because almost immediately he composed himself and kept to his own business. He hated lack of control, especially in himself. Becoming angry meant losing control; something he did often as a child, and often it ended badly either for him or Gilbert-or both if Grandfather found out. Of all things he had to control himself. So, Ludwig often did things that would blow off steam, he ran every morning before work usually, worked out in a gym on Wednesdays, and made homemade sausage on Thursdays. If he was feeling _especially_ wound up, he would… relieve himself in the bathroom while Gilbert was out. All regimented to prevent the loss of control. Gilbert may have said to hell with control years ago, but not slow and steady Ludwig.

Though, the one time it felt good was today. Today was a great day to lose control. _Especially_ all over Alfred's face.

To clarify, Ludwig had tried his best to ignore the taunts of "Kraut" and "Don't worry his ass will loosen up." … Though the final straw was… "Where are your hot pink pants?". Ludwig was _not_ a homophobe, early on in life he had learned to accept people even if their differences made him uncomfortable. But he had also learned that he was not gay. And he did not like being mislabeled or labeled at all. So MAYBE something questionable happened with Feliciano Friday night. He couldn't even remember it, so therefore it didn't count. And MAYBE Feliciano was acting a little _more_ strangely than he normally did, but the Italian immigrant was always a little idiotic and dramatic.

Ludwig unfurled his fist and stared at Alfred, who was cursing and covering his bleeding nose screaming for someone to get an ambulance. Several others crowded around them, some shaking their heads while others asked what had happened. Matthew from accounting reached down and pulled up Alfred, worriedly pulling away the bloody hand while Alfred screamed of going towards the light.

"Alfred-_Alfred_, stop. Stop! SHUT UP!" the two almost identical men stared at one and other before the longer haired of the two sighed. "It's not that bad. Your nose doesn't even look broken. I'll take you to a Centra Care to get it looked at. "

By this point Alfred was groaning as if he had been shot , and Matthew carefully pulled up the other and dragged him down the hall towards the bathroom to be cleaned up.

And to top it off, the elevator dinged, revealing a blur of brown hair and a blue shirt racing down the hall towards Ludwig only to crash into him. Hands clung desperately to him as small pants filled the air.

"Oh _Ludwig_! I was so worried about you! I was scared that someone had hurt you! Someone texted Antonio and told him what was going on! But you won! Oh Ludwig, I love you! And-"

"Feliciano." Ludwig could already feel himself losing control. If this continued then it could definitely end with-

But the idiot kept on babbling _incessantly_.

"I would hate for anything to happen to you Ludwig! You have no idea how much I love you and how much you mean to me-"

"Shut up."

Feliciano looked up at him, finally. "W-what?"

"Shut up. Get off of me."

Slowly the brunette drew those hands away, worry on his face. "Ludwig, I thought we were-

"We're not _anything_! What has you acting like we're some kind of couple, because we are _not_ Feliciano!"

"But Ludwig… You're my boyfriend…"

"I'm not anything! I'm _straight_! I'm not gay! So just stop with this fantasy you have! At this point Ludwig was grinding his teeth, furiously keeping himself from throttling the other.

Feliciano's big brown eyes watered instantaneously, and he sniffed and sniveled towards the elevator, shoulders slumped. He rubbed at his eyes while waiting for it to open before stepping inside. He did not wait to start wailing before it closed completely.

And then Ludwig realized he was alone in a room full of people who _really_ were not into him right now.

* * *

**A/N**: Haha! If you have any questions you would like for me to answer, ask me on my tumblr which is on my profile. :D

Thank you!


	3. Chapter 2

If one were to travel several miles out from the city; ways from Hetalia Corp, one would find themselves entering a couple of quaint little suburbs. Newly planted families and their cookie cutter houses dotted the asphalt subdivisions and neighborhoods; weeding their gardens and watching children learn to walk. Once one came past those homes, they came into the land of mansions. With miles in between, large homes dot the green fields. Occasionally one could see a horse and a couple of stables. If they kept going, they would come to the end of the road, with a sign titled "DEAD END". At that end of that road was the grandest, most beautiful home of them all, and in its driveway was a Lamborghini Aventador.

Inside this neutral toned, but welcoming home, one would find a pair of shoes and socks in the foyer. A couple feet after there would be pants, a button up blue shirt, and a jacket thrown helter skelter. If one kept going, they would eventually become acquainted with a pair of green boxer-briefs with the name _Feliciano Vargas_ embroidered _lovingly_ into the waistband in white thread. But the scene on the couch in the living room would fill that person's heart with _such_ sadness that they would not have the strength to go on.

Beside a sticky black remote rested an empty ice-cream tub (chocolate-the _flavor_ of grieving), some spent tissues, and its accompanying box of new ones. On the TV there was a _Telanovela_ playing which if Feliciano paid close enough attention to he could understand. But he wasn't _really_ listening to what was happening to Francisca and Roberto, all he could think about was… _you know_.

Cuddled in a blue fleece blanket, he sniveled and wiped his nose once more. His head ached from crying, but his heart felt like it was heavy with stones. No, it was _crushed_, Ludwig had _crushed_ his heart. "L-ludwig!" he sobbed again, wiping the pouring tears from his eyes. "Y-you tease! You bully!" he cried harder, covering his blanket in clear lines of mucus and tears. "Ludwig…" he covered his face.

Feliciano's family had always had money; they came from old money before the war, and effectively held onto it throughout. When Feliciano was twelve, his Mama came down with a horrible sickness that overcame her. She did not survive.

It had been difficult to imagine life without Mama; Father (since he did not _deserve_ to be called Papa) had left long ago with a woman with long hair. Feliciano and his brother both lived on, they were raised in a large villa with their grandparents. Grandfather made wine and sold it to foreigners, mostly Americans because they thought _any_ Italian wine was "Fine Wine". But, Mama's death took a toll on Grandmother, who was already in poor health. She died two years after Mama. Grandfather was sad, but busied himself with raising his grandsons into adulthood. But soon, Grandfather began to wilt, and sent them to live in America.

"You don't have to get any jobs. You will live in a home I have had out there for a while. I wanted to have us all go there… But it will be good for two young men." Grandfather kissed their cheeks and sent them off with a yell and a good bye wave as their plane departed. Feliciano cried the entire flight to America, much to Lovino's chagrin.

Lovino knew some English, but Feliciano was completely helpless at markets and shops trying to buy things. Soon Lovino realized that enough was enough.  
"Perhaps you should get a job. It will help you learn the language better. " Lovino suggested as he put on his own working clothes. Feliciano thought over this, and after trying to land several jobs, Lovino took him to where he worked-Hetalia Corp.

So, Hetalia Corp-keeping up with their "We hire around the world" image, hired him on as a mail room worker. Simple enough.

After three months of crying, paper cuts, misplaced stamps, and learning how to tie shoes, Feliciano effectively learned some English and how to work the mail room.

It was when he was on his first delivery to the upper floors that he met… _you know_.

It was Antonio who introduced them- someone who spoke Spanish, but also Italian-Ludwig had been getting coffee, and had been rubbing the sleep from his eyes that early morning. When those hands came down to reveal the clearest blue eyes he had _ever_ seen, Feliciano could've just died.

Oh, he was _so tall_, and _so handsome_. His hair was _almost_ white it was _so_ blonde, and his skin was white like snow. It wasn't pink like Ivan's, but _white_. To Feliciano, this-this _god_ in front of him was a prince, and Feliciano was a lowly servant.

Oh, oh he should've just gotten on his knees and _just_-

"Hello." The blonde man nodded at him. "I am Ludwig." He held out his hand and smiled pensively.

Feliciano-knowing this greeting- took it with both hands and shook vigorously. "I am Feliciano! Feliciano Vargas! Nice to meet you!" he greeted warmly in garbled English.

Antonio laughed a little when Ludwig's expression changed a bit to that of confusion. "His English is still improving." The blonde man nodded. "Ah, I see. We were all like that at first." He said as he removed his hand from Feliciano's grasp, clenching and unclenching his fingers before letting them disappear into his pants pocket.

"Yes! Yes! Treat me well!" Feliciano carried on a bit about himself before Antonio reminded him that Ludwig had to go back to work.

That night, Lovino stayed at Antonio's for their monthly movie/fun/none-of-your-business-Feliciano nights, and Feliciano furiously made love to himself with Ludwig's name desperately on his lips.

Many nights after he did that same, and carefully made sure to look out for Ludwig _everywhere_. It wouldn't have made sense for Ludwig to use the bathroom on one of the lower floors when there was one on his, but Feliciano checked anyway, he saw him at lunch in the cafeteria, outside occasionally standing with Antonio as he smoked, and sometimes (if he was lucky!) he could sneak a peek over his cubicle and get a good look at the muscular back of the German man while delivering mail on his floor. He learned that Ludwig was quiet, and never spoke German except for very quietly on the phone with someone for a couple minutes during the day. He rubbed his temples when involved with his brother Gilbert, and he often ate by himself.

It made Feliciano sad to watch the man he loved eat alone, but if he went over there it would be suspicious to others, and Ludwig _already_ seemed so uncomfortable with himself… So Feliciano sighed and watched from afar as Francis and Antonio asked him about his love life.

"There is someone… But they…" he '_ve-ed'_ a bit. "They do not notice me..."

Francis swooned, before gasping. "They do not notice you? _The_ Feliciano Vargas? The man with the beauty and the money! How could she not!" Francis smirked a little. "Unless... This is not a she?"

"W-what?"

"Now, now Francis." Antonio interrupted nervously, "Don't make such rash assumptions… Feliciano maybe does not wish to talk about it. Let's leave it be."

"But-"

"Leave it alone!" Antonio snapped before returning to his salad, picking at its contents with too much interest.

After that, Lovino stayed home for a while, murmuring about a stupid Spaniard and how it was none of Feliciano's business.

And so, Feliciano's and Ludwig's relationship stayed like that. It was purely work related; he never interacted outside ever with Ludwig.

Except one fateful night after work at _Vinci_.

Feliciano often went to meet with friends and play games, but when he saw that hunched over blonde who looked so helpless… He couldn't resist! And so, he abandoned his friends and settled by Ludwig at the bar.

But… he didn't expect Ludwig to be so…_dismissive_ of their relationship (or lack thereof). It was heartbreaking-it brought back everything to the surface, and Feliciano fled the scene-tears in his eyes. He could've believe that Ludwig didn't even see him as a friend. How could he do this Feliciano he was so mean and rude and hurtful and oh Ludwig!

When Ludwig chased him… It all came out.

"I love you." He sputtered. "Oh, _Ludwig_, please love me back, because I love you very much. I think you're cool and strong and can tie shoes and do pushups without crying and you're so handsome and-" the list went on and on. And Ludwig, with warmth in his clear blue eyes _kissed_ him.

Oh… _Ve_! The blonde's lips were softer than he could've imagined, he felt like Scarlet O'Hara of _Gone with the Wind!_ Ludwig was Rhett and… It was going to end a lot more happy than they actual book Lovino had read to him for his Literature class.

Feliciano grappled on to that thick jacket and held on for dear life. He kissed and Ludwig kissed back, it was so innocent-yet so…

They were _boyfriends_. This, this was a _boyfriend_ kiss. They were _boyfriends_ kissing and Feliciano was so happy and-

He wanted more.

_God_, it was hot.

"L-ludwig." He whimpered.

Suddenly they were at his house. They car ride there a blur to his hot mess of a body.

Lips were on his shoulder.

His hands reached lower and so did those big pale ones.

And grabbed-

Feliciano sobbed harder into his blanket. He couldn't believe himself! He had given his body someone who hated him! Who _used_ him! Ludwig had taken advantage of him!

After several snot smearing sessions, Feliciano deemed the blanket unfit for use of cuddling and stood up to deposit it in the washer in the back room. After a couple minutes trying to figure out the mechanism, Feliciano heard a key in the tumbler of the front door and foot-steps.

"FELICIANO!"

He started to sob.

"L-Lovino!" running as fast as he could, he tumbled into his brother's arms.

"Feli! Where are your clothes?"

"S-somewhere."

"Err… I'll wait outside." Antonio mumbled and shuffled outside.

"Feliciano." Lovnio guided him to the couch- glancing over the battlefield of grieving and turned off Feliciano's _Telanovela_.

"What _happened_? Where did that bastard hurt you?"

Feliciano reached towards his chest.

"M-my heart."

"…Feli, its one the _left_ side."

The latter moved his hand.

"No, the _other_ left."

"It doesn't matter!" he sobbed, reaching to hold his brother again. "Ludwig is horrible! He said he was my boyfriend but he just used me!"

Lovino cursed under his breath. "Stupid Krauts… Feli you just have to get over him. He's rotten and stupid and big and dumb and find yourself a good Italian man-"

"They love women too much!" Feliciano sobbed. "There are no gay Italian men for me! They are all taken!"

Lovino sighed, carefully running his fingers through his brother's thick brown hair. "You must… I don't know Feli! I'm not a rocket scientist or a shrink! _GOD_!" Lovino wrung his hands.

Muffled sobs came from his naked brother. And Lovino patted his head.

"Feli… I'll take care of it. I'm the oldest."

"B-by four minutes!"

Lovino scowled, "Shut up I hate you!"

"Lovino I love you!"

The eldest sighed and rubbed his brother's mop of hair some more "I love you too."

* * *

After a relatively horrible and uncomfortable day at work, Ludwig quickly made his way to his car, hoping to just go home and sleep on his sofa while Gilbert rented porn and ate popcorn. That's all he could ask for _really_ after a day of feeling guilty for something...

But-

"HEY ASSHOLE!"

It wouldn't just _end_.

Cringing, and carefully clicking the unlock on his key fob, Ludwig turned around to face… Feliciano?

"Feli-"

"WRONG! That's my twin. My _younger_ twin. And I have to stand up for my little brother!" the brunette firmly planted his feet on the asphalt and carefully clenched his hands. "Listen you! I have relatives in Bayern!"

"Alright?" Ludwig looked confused by this.

The brunette's face turned red slightly. "You upset my brother! You told him you were his boyfriend and then broke his heart!"

"What? I wasn't even his boyfriend! Feliciano made that up!"

"Why would he do that?"

"I have no idea!"

"Well you need to apologize before I make you!"

Ludwig crossed his arms and rocked back on his heels. "_Make_ me?"

The brunette wilted a little. "Yes! My relatives-"

"Yes, yes, Bayern, I know. Now, I will apologize to Feliciano when he returns to work for my behav-"

"No! You have to go visit him! He's depressed! You have to say you are sorry for not being his boyfriend and lying!"

"What?"

Lovino shook vigorously. "My Grandfather knows your boss and I'll make him report you! _AND_ I'll tell my relatives in Bayern!"

Well, that was something that could not be argued with. Ludwig needed his job. And even if this… This _evil_ twin was bluffing… He couldn't risk it.

Dignity be damned.

"Fine. I will go over there tomorrow. What is the address?"

* * *

A/N- I totally meant to get this out sooner than when I did! I apologize! I am slowly but surely typing out chapter 3! Its actually very close to being down and will be a relatively good sized chapter.

I beta'd this chapter myself, so please forgive any errors I overlooked!

Thank you for all the faves! Remember my tumblr is the best place to go if you want to get in contact with me quickly! :-) (Which is on my profile)

~Thanks everyone!


	4. Chapter 3

The Feliciano twin (Lovino) after several lectures and flinching away from Ludwig gave (threw) him Feliciano's address.

"And don't try any funny business! I'll be over there eventually after dinner time!" Lovino wagged his finger warningly before turning to run towards his blue car.

"Hey!" Ludwig called after him.

"What?" Lovino turned, looking at him with a worried glance.

"What kind of car is that?"

Lovino sneered. "Well, it's a _Murciélago_! Not that you would know!" With that the driver's side popped up and Lovino climbed inside quickly, nervousness clear on his face as he pushed the start.

"Actually I would…" Ludwig mumbled as the Lamborghini sped out of the parking garage. He sighed and turned towards his own car. Who even had the kind to spend that much on cars? He looked down at the address scrawled out in messy hand writing. It was about 40 minutes out from the city, but nowhere out of Ludwig's reach.

Feeling a pang of guilt, he remembered the ride back that Feliciano gave him. Honestly, the brunette was kind. A little too silly for Ludwig's taste, but kind enough. He supposed it would only make sense to go apologize after how he had acted.

Even if Feliciano had misread things.

The car ride there was quiet; Ludwig didn't even turn on the radio for the weather. He felt nervous. Mentally he made a list of things to say to Feliciano, but seemingly they all sounded… Fake to him.

_I'm sorry. _

_I really wish I could change things. _

_I'm sorry for yelling._

_I'm sorry for publicly embarrassing you._

_I'm sorry I slept with-_

Wait! That was still being debated! But the dreams that Ludwig was getting at 2 in the morning weren't exactly helping his case.

In the end, he decided that no matter how he apologized, he would not win. Feliciano would probably either cry with him sitting there feeling horrible or not even let him inside.

As a child, Ludwig had learned to deal with many different kinds of people. His brother had especially been a special case, and Ludwig had to learn how to do with Gilbert being… Horrible. Ludwig became the big brother to his older brother, and Gilbert became… Gilbert. He had tried his best, read books on people, took classes in college about dealing with people in the workforce…

But in his car, in front of this giant house with an _Aventador_ in the driveway, Ludwig was at a loss.

Sighing, he switched off the car and opened the door. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that there was a small path leading to the front door-framed with tiny blue-eye creeper flowers. The flagstones that lead up the walkway to a menacingly large doorway (which Ludwig did not remember) made him even more uncomfortable. It also confused him.

Why would Feliciano be working in the mail room of a large corporation if he could afford such an extravagant home? Ludwig could only dream of owning such a home, he'd have dogs; Gilbert could have his own personal maid and suite where Ludwig would never have to deal with him. He'd have many children, and a big breasted wife that was-

Ludwig blushed a little at his own fantasy, and walked carefully up the steps to the cherry wood door. On it was a brass knocker and on the warm stucco walls surrounding was a door bell. Ludwig reasoned that hearing the knocker would be harder than hearing the doorbell, and if he tapped just light enough, Feliciano wouldn't hear and he could just high tail-

"Ludwig?"

The large door was propped over slightly, and a single brown eye stared back at him as he stared back at it. He sputtered.

"Were… Were you going somewhere?"

The brunette sniffed, "N-newspaper."

"O-oh!" Ludwig turned to see the daily paper near a bricked over mail box at the end of the driveway. "I'll get it."

"Thank you." Feliciano sniffed a little before closing the door.

What now?

Ludwig panicked, he hadn't expected to actually _see_ Feliciano, well maybe he had but that was beside the point! After several minutes he walked back to the door-plastic covered newspaper in hand. He rapped lightly on the wood. It creaked open.

"Y-yes?"

"The newspaper." Ludwig held it up for identification.

"Oh yeah. Thank you." A small hand darted out and grabbed it.

As the door began to close Ludwig panicked. "Feliciano!"

It paused, "Yes?" a small voice asked.

"We should talk."

The next reply was through sobs. "Lovino threatened you to come!"

"N-no! He told me how upset you were so I came!"

"That's a lie Ludwig! Lovino threatens everyone!"

"Okay! He threatened me! But I didn't realize how upset you are and I just want to say I'm sorry!"

A pause. "…Really?"

"Yes!" Ludwig rubbed his temples furiously, feeling a headache coming on. "I am sorry. I apologize for my behavior."

The door swung open, revealing an extremely naked Feliciano with a grin that almost split his face in two.

"Oh Ludwig! I forgive you!" Hands reached for his blonde hair. "I'm sorry! I should've known that doing something like this in public would embarrass you! We'll only do boyfriend stuff in private if you want! Oh Ludwig I love you!"

"What? Feliciano!" Ludwig stumbled slightly, picking up the man by his arms and moving them inside. The brunette kept scrambling, climbing up Ludwig and cuddling him. He was slightly sweaty and sticky and smelled like three days of doing nothing.

"That's it!" Ludwig set him firmly on the couch. Smiling lazily, the Italian splayed himself on the couch, motioning his finger towards Ludwig's coat. Immediately the blonde's face reddened and he covered his eyes in embarrassment.

"Ludwig…"

"No, this is a misunderstanding. We are not going out."

Feliciano's face fell. "Yes we are! We agreed at Vinci's that night-

"I don't remember anything from that night Feliciano."

It was a firm statement, and the Italian looked down at his hands like they would explain something.

"You don't…" the green blanket beside Feliciano was pulled to cover his body "Remember what I told you?"

"No, and I'm sorry if it was important. Sometimes when I drink I forget things. I apologize." Ludwig felt especially uncomfortable, he felt like he had told the Italian his best friend had just passed away.

Maybe it is better this way.

Feliciano whimpered a little, then sobbed, and soon broke into all out wailings as he grabbed a throw pillow and sobbed intently into it. Ludwig was on the verge of a mental breakdown, he felt horrible and still had no idea how this had happened.

Awkwardly, he sat down and patted the exposed part of Feliciano's back, rubbing soothingly in small circles. He thought carefully, trying to figure out exactly what to say.

"I mean… It must've been very important what you said."

"Very!" was the brunette's muffled reply.

"I was so dumb for forgetting."

"Stupid head!"

"I'm so sorry."

"You should be!"

"I know; you have relatives in Bayern."

"What?"

"Nevermind."

After several attempts of failing to make the brunette feel better, Ludwig turned to drastic measures. He didn't exactly want to know what happened, but the Italian would not stop crying.

"W-what was it that you said?"

"Not telling because you are mean!"

His headache was definitely apparent now.

"Uh… How could I make this up to you?"

Suddenly Feliciano's head was raised. "You want to… Make this up to me?"

"Yes…" he was regretting this already.

Feliciano sniffed, and wiped a bit of dribble from his nose before looking over and staring Ludwig in the eye.

"Go on a date with me."

* * *

When Lovino arrived later that night, he was unimpressed and a little annoyed at Feliciano's lack of giving details about the situation. Feliciano was cleaning his face after a shower and giving short answers, Lovino did not like to be brushed off by anybody.

"Everything is fine between us." The younger of the two picked at his teeth a bit before flossing and subsequently crying a little at the discomfort. Lovino sat on the close toilet seat with his knees drawn to his chin. Feliciano was being very mature about the entire situation, almost _too_ mature for someone with the attention span of a six year old.

"I think you're hiding something. Something that _stinks_!" Lovino hissed the last part of the sentence and watched as Feliciano left the bathroom to fetch clean underwear. He heard a tinkle of laughter. "I told you, we are just going on a date." Lovino frowned at the word "Date". He never had gone on a date, whatever he did with Antonio-those were not dates. They were_ get togethers_, dinners, or hanging out. _Anyone_ was welcomed to join them. It wasn't _just _for Antonio and Lovino. _Anyone_ could come. So there.

"Why do you need to go on a date? Have you ever even been on one?" Feliciano reappeared towel drying his hair and smiling. "Oh yes! Plenty with pretty girls! Haven't you Lovino? Don't you go on dates with Anton-

"Those are not dates! What are you talking about? Are you _stupid_? You're _stupid_!" Lovino talked loudly and waved his hands a bit, redness taking over his face. Feliciano smiled warmly. "Lovino, I realize now that I know very little about Ludwig, he's a shy person and I want to get him to open up. If he can open up, then maybe he'll love me and see that I love him. So we are having dinner tonight so I can learn about him!"

Lovino rolled his eyes. "Feliciano, you have such a childish view on things. You're a hopeless romantic. You'll never just make him fall head over heels for you. It doesn't just happen."

"I know, I know! But maybe he'll-

"Feliciano! Stop acting so childish!" Lovino was annoyed now. His brother did not understand what a relationship was or how it worked. He was so set on his fantasy that he wouldn't even see what could happen. Lovino had seen enough of his brother crying. He didn't want this…this…Bastard to hurt his brother again.

Face red, and voice indignant, Feliciano puffed out his cheeks. "I'll do what I want and if it doesn't work out then we should just be friends at least! You can't tell me what to do!" He fled the room stomping. "No one can! I can do what I want!"

Lovino snorted a bit, and then scowled once more. It looked like he was going to have to stay at Antonio's longer if Feliciano was going to be mad at him. Then again, "Feliciano! You can borrow my red scarf!"

"Ve? Really? Oh thank you brother! You're the best ever!"

* * *

That afternoon Ludwig sat down and made himself type up a list of things _not_ to do on the impending date that night.

drinking, not even a little

letting Feliciano pay

Gilbert

blacking out.

Ludwig paused a bit at the last one and rubbed his eyes. If he stayed away from alcohol everything probably would go smooth. He just had to stay in control. Yes, control. Control was good; it was easy to control yourself.

Suddenly another "Do-not" popped into mind. Ludwig's face reddened before quickly typing in

staying overnight

Yes. That eliminated any kind of false signals. Besides, Ludwig liked women. He liked breasts, blonde hair, soft skin…

Rubbing his eyes, he closed the program and locked his computer (to prevent Gilbert's creeping hands) and went to the bathroom to get ready.

He had to pick up Feliciano at six; the brunette had told him that he would pick the restaurant. Ludwig only hoped it was affordable, but judging from the kind of house the brunette lived in, his tastes could range from expensive to very expensive and he had to pay for Gilbert's pay-per-view still…

Groaning, he leaned against the mirror; he honestly couldn't believe that he was actually getting ready to go on a date with a man.

After a shower, a quick shave, and picking out his clothes Ludwig went back to his computer to reread over his list one more time.

"What is that Ludwig?"

The lid of the laptop was slammed shut. "Nothing."

"Something for work. No, it couldn't possibly be, you wouldn't hide work stuff. What is that? Porn? Lemme see!" Gilbert began looking to pry the lid while Ludwig tried feverishly to keep it tightly shut.

After several minutes of struggling, Gilbert finally managed to pry the laptop from Ludwig's fingers and flip it open.

"What is this? A list of what not to do? You pay for the date? How old-fashioned."

"Shut up!" Ludwig blushed furiously while Gilbert's smile grew wider. "Ah, who is this Feliciano? Is she pretty?"

Ludwig stared at his brother in amazement at his stupidity before shaking his head. Whatever Gilbert didn't know wouldn't hurt him. "It is no one Gilbert."

"Don't give me that!" Gilbert closed the laptop and smirked, his red eyes growing into slits. "Is she from work? Is she popular?"

Ludwig straightened his tie a bit, "She is someone you know." Gilbert's face brightened at that. "Really? Who?"

"She worked in the mail room with you." Gilbert stared at him in amazement. "Really? I don't remember any girls from that department. Let's see… Feliciano… Feliciano… Wait… Feliciano as in the ital-

The door slammed shut before Gilbert could finish.

* * *

After several minutes of psyching himself up, Ludwig got out of his car and walked deliberately slow up the steps to Feliciano's door.

Maybe he wasn't home. Maybe he forgot about the date. Maybe he wouldn't answer. Maybe he changed his-

Ludwig knocked cautiously on the door, and rang the doorbell for good measure. He counted the seconds carefully. If Feliciano didn't affair within half a minute he was out of the-

"Ludwig?" the door opened fully to reveal a neatly dressed brunette, a smile on his face. His light brown jeans hugged close and looked handsome with the white button-up and light blue vest. After several minutes of staring Ludwig coughed a little.

"H-hello." Ludwig suddenly realized how empty his hands were and how overdressed he was. It wasn't a suit, but a nice pair of slacks and a button-up as well; he even added tie to show(or convince himself) that he was serious. He thrust his hands into his pockets-embarrassed at not bringing anything for Feliciano. The brunette either didn't notice or didn't seem to care before leaning against the doorway smiling.

"Do you want to come in?"

"Sure, sure." Ludwig quickly stumbled into the nice home and was assaulted with the scent of garlic. Something was cooking, and from the half way that separated the foyer and the kitchen he could see steam rising towards the light fixture in the ceiling. Suddenly his throat went dry.

Feliciano had cooked for him.

"You… You made dinner?" there was a click behind him as Feliciano shut the door. "Mhmm. Just some pasta. I thought it was quicker and cheaper than eating out."

Ludwig nodded. "Yes." This was already breaking the rules! Judging from Feliciano's house, his lifestyle was already extravagant. Ludwig honestly did not want to know how much the ingredients had cost to make him this. Feliciano didn't exactly look like a Ragu or Prego kind of cook. He had not even been on the date for five minutes and he had already broken number two.

Feliciano walked passed him with a smile. "Come sit." The brunette sat in the chair beside him and smiled warmly at Ludwig slid uneasily into his chair. Water on the stove across from them steamed away, and Ludwig could hear little puffs coming from Feliciano's breathing. Slowly and deliberately he turned and stared back at Feliciano.

"What do you like to eat in your country?" It was a simple question, but in reality it was a way for Feliciano to break the ice, and in a way it was working. Ludwig immediately felt more comfortable; food was a safe subject, a subject anyone could go into detail about.

"Um, sausage."

Feliciano gestured towards his ear. "What?"

"German sausage. Sauerkraut."

"Oh." Feliciano leaned over the counter and grabbed at a long necked glass bottle. Immediately Ludwig began to worry, and began practicing ways to decline a drink in his head. Feliciano looked at him and smiled again before grabbing two glasses. "What is sauerkraut? I have heard about it, and Alfred from your department calls you that sometimes. What is it?"

Ludwig's face darkened a bit. "Kraut, it is slang from the war. Alfred does not care for me."

"Why?" Feliciano tilted his head.

Ludwig waved his hand dismissively, "His great-grandfather was killed in the war by a German Luftwaffe. He carries that resentment that his family passed down. Atleast that is what Antonio tells me."

Like Alfred, Ludwig did have relatives who served in the army during the war. Occasionally he came across those like Alfred who still held old wounds fresh in their heart. It wasn't something that bothered him much, but Alfred… Alfred knew how to burrow underneath his skin.

Feliciano continued fiddling with the wine bottle-making Ludwig wonder if he at all needed help.

"Do you nee-

"No! I got it! Now what is sauerkraut?" he kept digging his nails into cork and pulling.

"Erm, it is fermented cabbage."

Feliciano stared at him. "That's disgusting! Why would you eat that? Wouldn't it taste nasty? And why do you eat sausage? How much sausage? Is that all you eat? What about cheese? Do you like cheese? Do you like breads too? What kind of-

The extent of questioning threw Ludwig off a little, and he stared in amazement at the rapid fire of Feliciano's mouth. While terrifying, it was slightly amazing at that the Italian could spit out information so quickly-ah, he was on a new topic.

"My favorite cheese is mozzarella! Do you like mozzarella? It's very good with anything! You can eat it on bread or crackers. You can put it in soup! It gets super stringy when melted! When Lovino and I are bored we make our own! Have you ever made something homemade? What about-

"Yes…" Ludwig said uncertainly.

"What have you made before hm?"

"S-sausage."

"I know how that is made! You take intestines in put the meat inside! But you have to be fast otherwise you'll ruin it! Right?"

"Y-yes…"

"Have you made homemade mozzarella? We should make it! After dinner we'll make some!" Feliciano seemed satisfied and returned to attempting to open the wine bottle. Finally he sighed and puffed out his cheeks.

"I can't do it. Lovino put it on so tightly…"

Ludwig smoothly took the wine bottle from the brunette and with a quick twist popped the cork off. Feliciano stared in amazement.

"Wow! You're really strong! How did you do that so easily?"

"U-um… I just twisted it." He blushed a little.

"You must be very smart! I wish I was so smart. Lovino says-

This… this was nice! Ludwig was actually having a great time. There was no awkward silence with Feliciano. He talked so damn much there was no time to be silent. In fact he was sure that even after Feliciano died they would have to remove his mouth otherwise he'd just keep talking.

"And then they said that it had to be removed! Grandfather was so upset that I swallowed so many-

"Feliciano."

"Hmm?" Feliciano looked up at and smiled.

"Wh-what do you like to do for fun?"

"Oh! I like cooking! And drawing and painting! What do you like to do?"

Ludwig blushed again. "Um… I like to read."

Feliciano smiled wider. "Really? What kinds of books do you like?"

"…Manuals."

Feliciano tilted his head a little. "Manuals? Like how-to-do-this books? Why?"

"Th-they are interesting."

"Oh."

The water was boiling, and Feliciano stood up and put in the pasta and check another pot that was bubbling away. He wiped his hands and turned towards Ludwig.

"So you read manuals?"

"Y-yes."

"So you're good at reading directions?"

* * *

"Okay. So plug in the blunt end into the square opening."

"Like this?"

"No, that's the rhombus opening."

"What's a rhombus?"

Two plates of ravioli sat halfway eaten on a pristine mahogany coffee table, while a brunette Italian looked confused between two plugs, not sure exactly where they went inside the xbox 360. Ludwig rubbed his eyes in annoyance and tapped the white manual on his crossed legs. After trying to assemble this xbox he wondered if Feliciano could even tie his own shoes correctly.

Once again Feliciano made a stab at the wrong side of the plug before Ludwig finally had enough.

"Let me see."

"I got it, I got it."

"No, you do not."

Ludwig scooted over behind the brunette and grabbed the plug from his hands. With little effort he plugged the cable into the correct slot, and did the same with the other. Reaching in front of Feliciano, he grabbed the controller and pressed the middle button. The xbox sprung to live and quickly switched the screen to the game's menu screen. Feliciano turned to him and grinned. "Thank you so much Ludwig!"

A kiss barely pressed Ludwig's cheek, and the blonde froze. Instantly Feliciano regretted it and looked down. "I-I'm sorry."

Ludwig shook his head and shook off his nervousness. "No, I'm fine. It's okay."

Feliciano looked up at him in hope. "Really? Can we be-

"Feliciano. We should do a lot more together before we get that involved."

"What do you mean? Should we have sex-

"NO! I mean, no. Not that I wouldn't like to-wait. I mean we should wait-I mean…" Ludwig rubbed his face in embarrassment.

Okay, so he liked Feliciano. He was funny and kind and little helpless. He liked how Feliciano's hair fell into his eyes, how one blasted piece went out on the side of his head like a curlicue. He liked how Feliciano's eyes were so honest and so full of innocence. He liked how the brunette smiled when he mixed up English and Italian. He liked how Feliciano didn't talk over him when he did let someone speak. He liked how comfortable Feliciano was. He liked that Feliciano showed everyone how he was feeling.

He was nothing like Ludwig, he was an anomaly.

And Ludwig liked him.

Ludwig was a little shocked at his own conclusion. He couldn't believe how easily he had come to that conclusion in one night. He was a little worried and scared. Ludwig had never even been in a relationship, at least not in one where he shared the same feelings with his partner.

Ludwig covered his face in embarrassment.

He had always said that he loved women, but now he was crushing on an Italian man.

"I mean… We should date."

There, he said it. He wanted to date Feliciano. Not that he was really worried about the brunette saying-

"Yes! Oh yes Ludwig! Oh I have to call Francis, and you should tell Gilbert! We should call Lovino and Antonio! But they are probably busy right now!"

"Feliciano."

"And Grandfather will be so happy! I should call! What time is it? Maybe he is awake now! Oh Ludwig-"

"Feliciano!"

"Yes?" the brunette smiled warmly at him.

"L-lets finish dinner."

Carefully the brunette laid a kiss on Ludwig's lips.

"Yes."

* * *

**A/N:** Chapter 3! Yay! This is unbeta'd but I read through it a couple times. Sorry if they're any mistakes! Also, I will be MIA for week or so due to that I will be out of the country! I'm super nervous! If you have any questions or anything you'd like me to know, please go to my tumblr which is linked on my profile!

Thank you for all the ninja-faves and alerts and everyone that has reviewed! 3


	5. Intermission

_Feliciano,_

_Lovino has called me several times leaving upset voice mails. He says that you have gone crazy. What could this mean? Are you crazy Feliciano? What is happening in America?_

_Grandpa!_

_I'm not crazy! I'm in love! Grandpa, I met this man. He is a good person, he's like Alaric! His name is Ludwig and he is so cool! He's tall and he knows how to do lots of things! He knows how to tie shoes and even taught me how to tie my own! No more zipper boots! He likes sausage and sauerkraut! Did you know that's fermented cabbage? So gross!_

_Feliciano,_

_I'm happy for you! But I'm confused. Is this man your lover or your friend? And why is Lovino worrying me about him? And how is he like Alaric?_

_Grandpa,_

_Yes he is my boyfriend! We've celebrated four months this week! I'm so excited! Grandpa I wish you could meet him! He is German like Alaric, and really tall like him too. And blonde and has pretty blue eyes. He looks a lot like Alaric does in your old black and white pictures from the war! Ludwig made me spaghetti with sausage last night! It was so romantic!_

_Feliciano,_

_Good luck with your German, Feliciano. And send me a written letter I'm tired of this technology._

Feliciano smiled warmly and closed the lid to his laptop. He ran his fingers over the metal surface and smiled warmly at the apple silhouette on the cover.

Four months. Four wonderful months with the man of his dreams! Feliciano had learned so much about Ludwig he felt like he could be him. Ludwig like manuals and sausage and sauerkraut and looking at landscape pictures and making lists and making schedules and working and-and-

The brunette swooned a little, Ludwig liked their love making.

It took a while for Feliciano to get Ludwig to come out of his shell when it came to their bedroom life. And after three months of coaxing, the Italian found himself handcuffed to his bedpost and being assaulted by the most _wicked_ tongue in all of Germany.

Feliciano could not even _stretch_ his muscles without crying out in discomfort the next day.

Lovino had been the least excited about their newly formed relationship. In fact the first few weeks he refused to allow Ludwig into their house to see Feliciano. When Ludwig had asked him about this, Feliciano broke down in tears, unsure how to stop his brother's tyranny. That day, Ludwig took him a hardware store where some nice people made a copy of his house key. Such resourcefulness! He didn't even know they could do that! After that, Ludwig could come and go as he pleased, and Lovino was too stubborn and frugal to simply change the locks to deter the blonde.

Eventually Lovino settled for just scowling and ignoring him, but Feliciano know in his heart it was Lovino's way of accepting Ludwig. Feliciano could not be happier; even if Lovino kicked Ludwig out sometimes just to be mean.

As the weeks went by, Feliciano realized (and by looking at the calendar Ludwig made him) that they were slowly approaching their fifth month anniversary. _Almost_ half a year together! He couldn't believe it himself.

He spent the rest of the weekend giggling into his pillow and spent a couple sessions touching himself furiously. Almost six months together! It was like having a year anniversary!

At lunch Monday Feliciano watched Ludwig with loving eyes and bit his lip hoping to deter himself from just jumping up and kissing the blonde in pure excitement. After several uncomfortable stares on Ludwig part, the man lowered his utensils and sighed.

"Feliciano. What is it?"

"Our five month anniversary is coming up. I want to do something special. What can we do that is special? What would you like to do? We had dinner last month, Do you want a bonda-"

"_No_! Feliciano! No." Ludwig rubbed his face and Feliciano giggled as it grew steadily redder. "Then what _should_ we do Ludwig?" he picked his words carefully and lowered his eyelids. Blue eyes looked between pale fingers at him, and he licked his lips for good measure. Ludwig liked when he licked his lips.

"A-a picnic."

Feliciano cocked his head in confusion. A picnic? What kind of picnic? Why would they need a picnic?

"Why a picnic? Where?"

"The fourth of July is coming up."

"Oh." Feliciano was confused.

"It's quite a sight… At the park they launch fireworks and people cheer and get excited."

"Oh! Fireworks! That sounds cool! We do that at New Years in Italy! So they do that for Independence Day? That's so romantic Ludwig! Oh I love it! It'll be so beautiful!" the simple thought of watching fireworks go off with Ludwig laying beside him just made Feliciano…Oh, he was still talking.

"Yes… I thought you'd like it."

"Then it's settled! Fourth of July fireworks!" The brunette ethusiacally picked up his fork and began eating.

_Grandpa,_

_I'm writing you a letter see? I hope you get it before the fourth of July! Ludwig showed me how to sent airmail and this is so cool I feel like a super secret messenger! We are going to see fireworks for the fourth of July! That's Independence Day in America! We're going to have a picnic and have a great time! I put a picture of Ludwig in the envelope! Isn't he handsome?_

_Love, Feliciano._

_PS. He says his grandpa's name is Alaric! Isn't that cool?_

_PSS. Lovino says hi!_

_Feliciano,_

_He does look a lot like Alaric. Tell him to grow his hair out and we can compare! Anyway, have a wonderful time Feliciano._

_PS. That's interesting._

_PSS. Tell him Grandpa loves him._

It was 7 in the morning, and Feliciano's genitals were in his face.

Not that Ludwig did not _appreciate_ having Feliciano's…_stuff_ in his face, but Feliciano had this awful habit of sleeping fitfully. He tossed and turned, rolled around, turned upside down, and Ludwig was pretty sure that was how they ended up in this awkward position; like they did every other morning.

After some gentle prodding, and a firm smack to Feliciano's thigh, the brunette fumbled to the bathroom to pee and shower. Ludwig sat up and scratched his head, looking around the room they occupied. It was Feliciano's room, and Ludwig wondered how much time he had before Lovino came storming in and demanding he leave the premises.

The blonde sighed and rubbed his eyes. In just two days it would be their five month anniversary, and Feliciano had been feeling especially loving because of it. He was excited, anyone could see that.

Ludwig had already planned it all out. He would make some pasta and seal into a thermos and prayed it stayed hot until they arrived. They would have salad and pasta, then chocolate cake for dessert. After that, some wine and cheese, and they would sit back and watch the fireworks go off. Ludwig breathed out; pleased with himself at his amount of preparation. Feliciano would love this. Everything was going to go to plan. He knew it.

"Ahh! Ludwig My hair got stuck in the shower door help!"

Not even wanting to know how his boyfriend managed to do that, Ludwig stretched, and got up to assist his Italian lover.

* * *

**A/N:** Ahh I'm so embarassed please forgive me!

Its been FOREVER since I posted the last chapter.

This chapter will simply be an intermission. ^^ Next will be the date, some drama, and then happily ever after. I promise the next section will be larger.

Also I am now on ao3, though nothing has been moved over there yet. So if you're interested watch my tumblr for updates.

Thank you to everyone for reading, favoriting, reviewing, etc. You all you amazing!


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